Family Intact
by MissAndie
Summary: James & Lily. Ranges across fifth year to seventh year. Read&Review please :D
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: All credit to Jo Rowling**

* * *

Lily Evans throws herself on her bed in the girls dormitory and sobs. She can't hear the birds tweeting, or the music coming from the Gryffindor common room. All she can hear is that word, echoing over and over in her mind. _Mudblood._

She remembers Severus Snape telling her that being a Muggle-born didn't mean anything; it didn't make you a less powerful with or wizard, it didn't affect anything to do with your magical abilities. Now she looks back and notices his hesitation. To him, of course being a Muggle-born makes a difference. To him, and people like him, blood is everything.

She remembers Severus telling her that he hoped she'd be in Slytherin, that very first train ride to Hogwarts five years ago, and how crestfallen he had looked when the Sorting Hat had yelled Gryffindor.

She remembers all the time spent together, just having a laugh, being the best of friends. Lily sits up and wipes her eyes. She should've known from the start that a friendship between such different people could never last, not with everything that's going on. Ever since Severus became friends with Avery and Mulciber, he's been slightly different. She should've seen it coming.

Severus is the one who broke the seal of their friendship. Lily can't believe she actually thought she loved him. Now she knows better. She doesn't hate him; she will always care for him. But there was no use trying to salvage anything, no use trying to go back to how it was. He can't take that – that _word_ back into his mouth. She'll never forget the way he said it, down by the lake. All she'd been doing was looking out for him, just like she's done for the past five years. And he throws it back in her face with one little sentence:

"I don't need help from filthy little Mudbloods like her!" As soon as he'd said it, Lily had frozen. She couldn't look at him. She saw James Potter pointing his wand at Severus, yelling at him to apologise.

"I don't want _you_ to make him apologise," she'd said. She didn't want anyone to make him apologise. She didn't want to anything to do with him. She'd spun around and walked back to the castle, straight to the common room and up to the dormitory she shared with four other girls.

"Lils?" She hears Hestia Jones say softly, peeking around the door. Lily gives a weak smile, and stands up from the bed. She rubs her face with her hands and sighs. Marlene McKinnon walks in and strides over to Lily, hugging her tightly. Apart from Severus, Hestia and Marlene are Lily's best friends. Lily starts crying again, and the girls comfort her as she cries.

* * *

James sits on the plush red sofa in the Gryffindor common room, fiddling with the little Snitch he'd recently acquired. Remus Lupin was trying to persuade Sirius Black to plan for the Transfiguration exam they had coming up, and Peter Pettigrew was attempting his Potions homework.

"She didn't do anything, _anything_," James says, staring absently into the fire. Sirius looks at him and sighs.

"Mate, what did you expect her to do?"

"Snivellus was her best friend – although Merlin knows why – and she just stood there. He called her a Mudblood, for Merlin's sake!"

"Well she called him Snivellus," Peter says feebly. James looks at Remus.

"Moony, what would you do if one of us turned around to you one day and insulted you because of your condition?" He asks, feeling a desperate need for some kind of answer. "Not that it will ever happen of course, it's just out of curiosity." Remus thinks for a moment.

"I'm not entirely sure, Prongs," he says. "I think it's one of those situations where it actually has to happen before you know what you would do, where you can fully understand it." James sighs.

"I'm never going to understand her, am I, Padfoot?" He asks his best friend, who sighs again.

"To be honest Prongs, I'm never going to understand girls."

"You get with enough of them; surely you should have a bit of an understanding of them?" Remus says, his blue eyes glinting with amusement. Sirius shrugs.

"Physically? Yes, but emotionally?" He says. "Nah." James and Remus chuckle, Peter has to think for a moment.

"Oh!" He finally says. "I get it." James snorts and Sirius rolls his eyes.

* * *

The door opens just as Lily is slipping her dressing gown on and Mary, a fellow Gryffindor fifth year, rushes in.

"Snape is outside the common room," she says. "He says he'll sleep there if you don't go out and speak to him." Lily sighs.

"I'll go and sort him out," Marlene offers, tying the strings of her pyjama bottoms together. Lily cracks a small smile and retrieves her wand from her nightstand. She slips it into her dressing gown pocket and heads for the door.

"I've got it," she says. She pads down the stairs and enters the common room. Her attention is drawn to Potter and Black, who are messing around in front of the fire. Normally, she would reprove them for such behaviour, but she just doesn't have the energy. She sighs and heads for the portrait hole. It opens and she steps out, and is greeted by the sight of her former best friend looking dishevelled and anxious.

"I'm sorry," he says. Lily folds her arms across her chest.

"I don't care."

"I'm sorry!"

"Save it. I only came out because apparently you told Mary you were going to sleep here."

"I was. Honestly Lily, I never meant to call you that, it just slipped–"

"Bullshit. I've heard you call every Muggle-born you hear of a Mudblood, Severus, and I'm tired of ignoring that. All I've ever done is defend you and be there for you, and this is what you do? It's too late. Nobody understands why I ever bothered with you, and now I don't understand it either. I don't understand how I could call a future Death Eater my best friend." Snape shifts uncomfortably. "You don't even deny it! But it's done. I've made my decision."

"No, Lily. Please. I didn't mean–"

"Sure you didn't. I'm no different to all of the other Muggle-borns you've insulted. Try pleading for their forgiveness instead." Snape goes to say something, but Lily has already retreated back through the portrait hole.

* * *

Lily sits in the library, trying to find information for the potion recipes they'll be studying in Potions next week, but she can't concentrate. As much as she says Severus is out of her life for good now, every now and again her mind wanders back to the good times they shared together. Especially when she's doing Potions homework, with which Severus always helped her.

A bag is thrown down next to her, and she looks up to see Hestia smiling down at her.

"You alright Lils?" She asks, frowning slightly. The auburn haired witch nods and smiles.

"Yeah, you?"

"Yeah," Hestia says, pulling a quill and ink pot from her bag. "You got any spare parchment?"

"Yeah." Lily gives her a sheet and her eyes drop back down to the book in front of her.

"Had any luck on the Potions homework for next week?" Hestia asks.

"No, trying to do it now," Lily replies. "Finding it hard to stay focused though."

"You're thinking about him again." It wasn't a question. Lily couldn't look her best friend in the eye.

"He was one of my best friends, Hestia–"

"He did the worst thing he ever could've done to you, Lily! How can you sit there and think about forgiving him?"

"I haven't even considered forgiving him!" Lily snaps. "Imagine if you and I suddenly fell out and you knew we were never going to be friends again – would you be able to forget our friendship so easily?" Hestia doesn't have anything to say to that. She knows Lily is right. Lily sighs and packs her things up.

"Where are you going?" Hestia asks. She's close to tears knowing she's just upset her best friend.

"For a walk," is all Lily says before walking out.

* * *

Severus Snape watches from afar as Hestia quickly packs her things up and hurries after Lily. Lily is never going to forgive him. He sighs and goes back to the Transfiguration essay he's doing.


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: All credit to Jo Rowling**

* * *

"_No_, Potter, I will _not_ go to Hogsmeade with you today."

"Oh come on, Evans–"

"NO!" Lily yells, but nobody pays any attention to them. This is a normal occurrence in the Gryffindor common room, and quite frankly everyone wants either James to give up on Lily, or Lily to give in to James.

"But why?"

"Where do I start, Potter?" Lily fumes. "You're an arrogant, conceited, bullying toerag, for starters! Merlin, Potter, when will you get the hint?" Lily stands up and storms out of the common room, closely followed by Hestia Jones and Marlene McKinnon.

"Prongs, I think you need to give her a break," Remus says. James sighs and ruffles his already untidy black hair.

"I can't stay away from her though, Moony."

"Come on, Prongs," Sirius says. "I'll go to Hogsmeade with you." He changes the pitch of his voice and bats his eyelashes. James grins and jumps up.

"Thank you for doing me the honour," he says, bowing. Sirius links his arm through James' and they skip out of the common room. Remus and Peter exchange a glance and follow.

* * *

"Mail's here!" Marlene exclaims one morning at breakfast. Lily looks up from her toast to see the owls swooping in. She sees her own owl instantly, and is excited to have a letter from home. The letter drops in front of her, and she recognises her sister's handwriting. She frowns and picks up the envelope. Some of the words are smudged by what Lily thinks are tears. She panics and rips open the letter.

_Lily,_

_I know I don't normally write to you because I don't like you, but Dad can't write at the moment. He can't do anything. Mum's dead, Lily. She died in a car accident on Tuesday. The school year's almost up for you, so Dad wants you to stay there until the end of the year. _

_We'll begin arranging the funeral when you get home._

_Petunia._

The tears are streaming down Lily's face and she's finding it hard to breathe. She can hear Hestia and Marlene asking her what's wrong, why is she crying. She can't reply. She can't tear her eyes away from the paper. There's no "don't mean to alarm you" or "hope everything's okay". Just simply "Mum's dead." Blunt, like Tuney has been towards Lily ever since she got her Hogwarts letter and Petunia didn't.

Lily stands up and rushes out of the Great Hall, tears still flowing and the letter clutched in her hand. Hestia and Marlene look at each other, stricken, before running after her.

"What's going on with them?" Sirius asks, shoving another strip of bacon into his mouth. James doesn't answer. It must be bad. Lily doesn't cry very often.

"Lily was crying," Peter tells Sirius.

"Lily doesn't cry." Sirius scoffs through a mouthful of food. James stands up.

"I'm going to go and find out what's wrong–"

"Is that really a good idea, Prongs?" Remus asks. "If she's crying, then it must be bad. I don't know if she'll be wanting another invitation to Hogsmeade at the weekend."

"I'm not going to ask her out, Moony," James says, ruffling his hair. "I'm just going to make sure she's okay." He walks out of the Great Hall before any of his friends can stop him, and heads towards the most likely place girls will go when they're upset: the girls' bathroom. He gets there, and pauses outside. He can hear sobbing, and assume its Lily. His heart constricts at the sound and all he wants is to comfort and hold her.

"Lily, tell us what's wrong," he hears Marlene say. Lily continues sobbing. James takes a deep breath and knocks on the door. There's scuffling, and then Hestia appears.

"What is it, James?"

"If he's going to ask her out again, I'll hex him into the hospital wing for a month!" Marlene shouts.

"I just want to know if she's okay."

"Hestia, get in here!" Hestia rushes back inside the bathroom, and James hesitatingly follows. It's just the three girls. Lily is huddled up in the corner, with her knees to her chest, her head bowed and her body convulsing with sobs. Marlene's arms are around her and Hestia is next to them, holding what James assumes is a letter.

"Oh, my," Hestia whispers.

"Are you alright, Evans?" James asks softly, edging closer to them. Marlene's head shoots up.

"What are you doing here, Potter?" She snaps.

"I want to make sure she's okay."

"Does she look okay?!"

"Well then what's wrong? I might be able to help."

"Oh yeah, sure you can help," Marlene sneers. "Posh Potter, with his family intact and thinking the sun shines out of his arse."

"What do you mean 'family intact'?" It dawns on James. "Has she lost a relative?" Nobody says anything. The only sound that can be hear is Lily breathing heavily and sniffling. She's trying to calm herself down. After a few moments, she looks up at James and her appearance shocks him. Her eyes are red and puffy, her cheeks are tear stained, her vibrant auburn hair is dishevelled and she looks as though she's lost all hope.

"My mum," she whispers. James inhales sharply.

"If it's any consolation," he says. "My family isn't exactly 'intact', as Marlene put it."

"We don't want your life story," Marlene says. James nods.

"Well, I hope everything turns out alright for you, Evans," he says, before turning on his heel and walking out. He receives a few weird looks for emerging from the girls' bathroom, but he's past caring. Professor McGonagall stops him in the corridor.

"What were you doing in there, Potter?"

"Lily's in there–" he begins, but the witch interrupts him.

"Oh, that's where she is. Thank you, Potter," she says before heading in there herself. James sighs and debates in his head whether to skip Muggle Studies or not. He decides to go, and shoves his hands in his pocket before returning to the Gryffindor common room to collect his bag, and making his way to class.

* * *

The tears stream down Lily's face as her mother's coffin is lowered into the ground. She looks up at the clear blue sky and closes her eyes as the choir sings a hymn. Her mother loved the choir. She was never a particularly religious person, but singing hymns was something she always enjoyed. Lily turns her head to look at her father, whose head is bowed.

She reaches out and takes his hand, squeezing it reassuringly. He squeezes it in return, and reaches out to Petunia, stood the other side of him. She too grasps his hand, and Lily locks eyes with her sister.

There is a mutual understanding between them. They will never get along, will never be close, will never see eye to eye. But they have to try to be civil now, for their fathers' sake.

She looks around, scanning the faces of everyone who showed up to Mrs Evans' funeral. Friends, family, friends of the family. The choir begins the last hymn of the service and everyone in turn goes forward to throw a white rose into the grave. Lily goes last, and she blows a kiss in as she drops her rose.

* * *

When they get home, Lily gives her dad a kiss on the cheek.

"I don't have to go back for seventh year," she says. "I'll stay and help you."

"No, Lily," he says firmly. "Your mother would kill me if I let you do that." He smiles affectionately at his youngest daughter and pulls her into a hug. When they pull apart, she smiles at him and heads up to her room. She closes the door behind her and breathes deeply. Her eyes are closed as she slides down and ends up on the floor. She doesn't want to cry anymore.

_Tap. Tap tap tap. _A strange sound alerts her, and she opens her eyes. There's an owl outside the window, tapping on the glass to get her attention. She gets up and unlocks the window, pushing it open to let the owl in. She unties the letter from its leg and gives it a treat. It waits patiently for her to read the letter in case she needs a reply taken to the sender. She sits down on her bed and opens the envelope. She recognises the writing on the envelope, and doesn't know what to expect. She pulls the parchment out and braces herself.

_Dear Lily,_

_I know you hate me, but I know that your mum's funeral is today. I hope you're okay, I really do. Happy birthday for last week. See you in September._

_James Potter. _

Lily smiles in spite of herself. She feels a little better knowing that at least someone, even if that someone is as annoying as James Potter, hopes she's okay. Even though she's not. Not really.

* * *

Lily opens the letter from Hogwarts, fidgeting in her seat with excitement. She takes a deep breath.

"Come on, Lils," her dad urges. "I want to know if you got it!" She smiles and pulls out the parchment. With it falls out a shiny red badge, reading HG. Head Girl. She squeals.

"I'm Head Girl!"

"That's my girl!" Her dad exclaims, walking to where she's stood in the kitchen to hug her.

"I wonder who got Head Boy," she says thoughtfully.

"Who do you think?" Her dad asks.

"Well, I have a strong suspicion it could be Remus Lupin, but there are a number of reliable male prefects it could be," she replies, buttering her toast.

"Do they have to be a prefect?"

"Well, no," she says, frowning. "But it makes sense if they're a prefect, because they're more likely to be trustworthy."

"Ah. Well I'm off to work, honey. Have a relaxation day today; you've got to start getting ready for school in the week." He kisses her on the cheek, picks up his car keys and leaves.

"Bye Dad!" She calls, and carries on eating her toast.


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: All credit to Jo Rowling**

* * *

Lily settles down in the compartment and waits for the other prefects to arrive, and more importantly, the new Head Boy. She's already in her robes, with her shiny new badge pinned comfortably opposing her Gryffindor badge.

The compartment door opens and she looks over to see Hestia and Marlene entering. They're not supposed to sit with the prefects and Heads, but they do anyway. Nobody really minds.

"Hey Lils!" Hestia says brightly, coming over to hug her friend.

"There's the new Head Girl!" Marlene says, grinning. Lily grins back and blushes slightly.

"It's no surprise, really," Hestia says, sitting down opposite Lily.

"I think everyone pretty much knew that it was going to be you," Marlene says, sitting down next to Lily.

"How was your guys' summer?" Lily asks, changing the subject.

"Not bad, had my brother's wedding which was pretty good," Hestia says.

"Mine was sort of boring," Marlene says. "Mum's whining about what I'm going to do after I leave Hogwarts." Lily giggles.

"How about you, Lils?" Hestia asks. "How was the funeral?" She adds softly.

"Not bad," Lily says. "The funeral was horrible. It really hit me, when she was being lowered down into that hole..." She takes a deep breath. "But I don't want to talk about that right now. Who do you think the new Head Boy will be?" The train begins to move.

"I think it will probably be Remus," Marlene says. At that moment, the sliding compartment door opens and Remus Lupin walks in. The girls scan him for any sign of the shiny red HB badge, but see nothing.

"Hey girls," Remus says. He sits down next to Hestia, who smiles warmly at him.

"Hey Remus," she says. "Good summer?"

"Pretty good," he replies. "Yours?"

"Not bad."

"How about you, Lily?" Remus asks. "I see you got Head Girl. Well done." Lily glances down at her badge and smiles.

"My summer wasn't too bad," she says. "The funeral was a funeral, if that's what you mean. And yep, I got my shiny badge." She grins.

"Remus, do you know who the new Head Boy is?" Marlene asks, leaning forward slightly. Remus opens his mouth to say something but is interrupted by the compartment door opening and three very loud boys walking in. Lily, Marlene and Hestia all see the shiny red Head Boy badge pinned to the robes of one James Potter. Their jaws drop.

"Potter?" They all exclaim, shocked.

"See mate, they're already chanting your name," Sirius says, patting his best friend on the back as they sit down.

"How the _Merlin_ did you get Head Boy?" Marlene asks. James shrugs.

"I have no idea," he says.

"There has to be some kind of mistake," Lily says. "There's no way Potter could be Head Boy."

"Why not, Evans?" Sirius demands.

"Because, _Black_, he has the maturity level of a two year old," she snaps in reply.

"What's that got to do with anything?" Sirius asks.

"You've got to be mature and responsible to be Head Boy," Marlene says.

"I'm not sure either of those words are in their vocabulary," Lily says.

* * *

"I don't understand what's so funny about me falling off a toy broomstick?" James asks, baffled at the fact that Lily finds his childhood stories so amusing. They're in the Prefect Lounge, doing their Transfiguration homework. It's quieter up there than the common room, but they can still talk and have a laugh unlike the library.

"I can – just imagine – little James – falling," Lily splutters between laughs, but is unable to finish the sentence.

James and Lily have become friends since the start of the year. Lily still hasn't figured out how James Potter was even allowed to be Head Boy, but she found that over the summer he matured immensely. He doesn't continuously ask her out, although there is still the odd occasion, but she finds him easy to talk to and a good friend. She's also begun to fall for him.

"So tell me some of _your_ childhood stories, Evan," he demands. When she eventually calms down, she thinks for a moment.

"None of mine are funny or particularly embarrassing, though," she says.

"So tell me a nice one," James says. "Not all of mine have been funny or embarrassing."

"Well, one of my favourite memories is from before I got my Hogwarts letter, when Tuney and I were still best friends and not just sisters," Lily begins. She's told James all about her non-existent relationship with Petunia, and about how she misses her sister. "We were in the garden, making daisy chains – I was about five, I think – and I remember saying to her 'I love you, Tuney. You're the best big sister in the world', and I remember her looking at me and saying 'I love you more, Lilypad' and she hugged me and..." Lily trails off, remembering how close she and Petunia used to be. She feels arms wrap around her and knows its James. She doesn't pull away. Instead, she leans into his chest and closes her eyes.

"I miss her, James," she whispers. "I wish she didn't think I was a freak."

"I know, I know," James says softly, resting his chin on the top of Lily's head. He can't believe she's actually letting him comfort her, letting him hold her. She pulls back and looks at him. She gives him a small smile. They just sit there, looking at each other. He notes how her emerald-green eyes seem to be shining brighter than usual, how her auburn curls seem to be a little tamer today. She notes how his hair is as untidy as always, how his glasses have been cleaned, and how his brown eyes are sparkling.

Before she can stop herself, she's leaning in. He leans in, too, and their lips meet. The kiss is passionate, explosive, and an experience neither will ever forget. Suddenly, Lily freezes, realising what she's doing. She pulls away and hurriedly stands up, packing her things away.

"I'm – I'm sorry," she stutters.

"Lily," James whispers. She looks at him, and then looks away again. She shoves her quill into her bag and walks out. He chases after her, calling her name. He sees her run through the portrait hole and quickly gets there before the Fat Lady closes it. He rushes in, and catches a fleeting glimpse of auburn hair disappearing up into the girls' dormitories. He goes over and stands at the foot of the stairs. He doesn't care who hears him yell, but he knows she'll come down to shut him up.

"Lily," he yells. "You can't just kiss me and then run off like that." The busy Gryffindor common room freezes. Did they hear right? Did Lily Evans kiss James Potter?

"Did she really kiss you, Prongs?" Peter asks, shocked. Sirius whacks him around the head with his Charms book.

"Shut _up_, Wormtail," he hisses.

"Did you really have to broadcast it?" Lily cries, appearing at the bottom of the stairs.

"Yes." James looks pleased with himself. She rolls her eyes before taking a deep breath. She reaches out and pulls James towards her, surprising him by kissing him again. Everyone in the common room gasps, before breaking out into applause.

"Finally!" Sirius yells. James' arms wrap around Lily and pull her close to him. When they break apart, she giggles.

"I always knew you were just faking the whole 'I hate Potter' charade," he whispers. She grins.

"Nope, never faked it," she replies. "Just realised that it wasn't true after about six and a bit years." He chuckles and kisses her nose.

"You're a great kisser, Evans."

"Really, Potter? Have you had enough experience with my kissing to make that judgement?"

"Hmm, probably not. Care to help me with that?" Lily grins again before leaning in to kiss him.


End file.
